Swayze, William Keith 'Pete'

Survived 1920-02-26

Birth Date: unkown date

Born: Toronto,Ontario

William Davis Swayze and Margaret E. Stevenson

Home: Lindsay, Ontario

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Service

RAF

Unit

62 (FR) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Insperato Unexpectedly

Base

France

Rank

Lieutenant

Position

Lieutenant

Service Numbers

Swayze, was a Bristol Fighter pilot with 62 Squadron. He and his observers scored six victories in the spring and summer of 1918. He was captured by the Germans on 1918-09-04 when his aircraft developed engine problems and he was forced down behind enemy lines by a member of Jasta 58. Repatriated at the end of the war, he arrived in Toronto on 1920-02-11 but died at home in Lindsay, Ontario two weeks later, a victim of Bright's disease. He was 21 years old.

Bristol F.2 Fighter F.2A F.2B

Bristol F.2b Fighter serial D8096 (Source Wikipedia)
The Shuttleworth Collection's Bristol F.2B Fighter
BristolF2.jpg image not found

The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, other popular names include the "Brisfit" or "Biff".

Although the type was intended initially as a replacement for the pre-war Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c reconnaissance aircraft, the new Rolls-Royce Falcon V12 engine gave it the performance of a two-seat fighter.

Despite a disastrous start to its career, the definitive F.2B version proved to be a manoeuvrable aircraft that was able to hold its own against single-seat fighters; its robust design ensured that it remained in military service into the 1930s. Some surplus aircraft were registered for civilian use and civilian versions proved popular.

Perhaps one of the best known flying aces to use the type was Canadian Andrew Edward McKeever, and his regular observer L.F. Powell.[18] By the end of 1917 McKeever had accumulated 30 shoot-downs of enemy aircraft, while Powell had achieved eight aerial kills, while operating the Fighter. McKeever later became a flying instructor stationed in England before becoming the commanding officer of No. 1 Squadron of the newly formed Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), where he continued to use the Fighter as his personal aircraft, which was later transferred to CanadaWikipedia

YouTube Bristol F 2b Fighter

Wikipedia Wikipedia Bristol F 2b Fighter

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